KHALIYESA BARBARA MINISHI

Shehzana Kuki Anwar is pictured with her bow, Roxy, at the Archery Training grounds where she continues to both train and coach for the past 17 years.Kuki was the flag bearer for Kenya in the Rio 2016 Olympics Games and is training for the next Olympics.

Shehzana Kuki Anwar is pictured with her bow, Roxy, at the grounds where she has and continues to both train and coach for the past 15 years.

Kuki was the flag bearer for Kenya in the Rio 2016 Olympics Games and is training for the next Olympics.

“There was a time the archery range was the only place I felt at home and the bow was my best friend. Growing up, I used to feel the resentful weight of external opinion that women were inferior to men. Archery was my therapy, a reclamation and assertion of my inner strength and power. It still is.

I feel strong when drawing back the bow, releasing the arrow and hitting the target.

My love, discipline and dedication for archery is vast as I navigate both training and leadership. I continually attend coaching seminars and constantly challenge myself to learn the technical aspects of archery and its equipment which I love to fiddle with both on and off the range.

To date, I am a Level 1 Coach, technical trainer and the top recurve archer in Kenya and dream take the Kenyan flag back to the Olympic archery stage again.”

Captain Koki Mutungi in front of her ‘baby’, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner,Kenya Airways main Headquarters hangar, Kenya Airports Aviation, Embakasi Nairobi. Kenya.

In 2004, Captain Koki Mutungi became the first African Woman to qualify to command a Boeing 737 Dreamliner and led Africa's’ first all female crew on a flight with Dreamliner in the same year.

In 2014, she was highlighted as one of the “20 Youngest Power Women in Africa“ by Forbes Magazine and won the Women4Africa Award (UK),

For five(5) consecutive years she was listed in Business Daily’s, “Top 40 under 40”, and also featured on CNN International as a “ Change Maker “ in 2020.

She successfully inspires, mentors and positively impacts young women in Kenya and Africa, who have repeatedly cited her as their reason for becoming Pilots.

Recently, she joined the Board of Governors at the Flight Safety Foundation.

LGBTQ stigma is painfully prevalent in Africa, to a point where so many are losing their lives simply because of two uncontrollable events; how they were born and who they choose to love.

Through their powerful storytelling, Chris aims to end the discrimination against the LGBTQ community in her country Kenya and across Africa.Bold Network was founded by Chris Muriithi in 2020.

In 2018, after being ousted publicly as a gay woman, Chris went through a traumatic experience of cyberbullying and public shaming for months and years.

This experience broke their spirit but they chose to rise above the humiliation and stand boldly in their truth.

Their shell had cracked open. They knew then that they wanted to form a movement that could help so many other queer people in Africa who have gone through similar experiences.

Being a journalist and a filmmaker, Chris knew they wanted to use there passion for storytelling to inspire change in Africa and thus; Bold Network was born.

Kitengela is a semi-arid savannah climate and planting drought tolerant trees is vital for reforestation.

Dorcas is in the midst of the trees she facilitated planting 3 years ago at Noonkopir Township Primary School, Kitengela, Kajiado County. Kenya

Dorcas started Ikosafi Africa in late 2018 due to her love for the environment and growing concern for the global environmental issues we are currently facing. Ikosafi Africa is a Forest Restoration Enterprise focused on using technology to deal with deforestation and climate change. They do this through their digital platform that makes it simple and convenient for individuals and companies to plant trees to offset their carbon footprint and to participate in building a climate resilient world.

In May 2020, Ikosafi signed an MOU with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), to work together toward achieving Kenya’s ambitious reforestation goal of 10% forest cover and beyond.

They have set their our own ambitious goal to plant and grow a minimum of 10 Million trees by 2025.

Award winning activist, musician and 2021 TED fellow/speaker Karen Lucas is an established leader in the Kenyan arts and culture ecosystem.

While Karen continues to be part of several noteworthy initiatives, her influence has evolved by utilizing her platform to educate the public on LGBTQ+ issues and create awareness and focus on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights education for the youth.

Phyllis Omido is the founder of the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA) and the setting for this portrait was on location at a public beach currently amidst controversy that CJGEA has been working on for years.

Despite a court ruling barring the illegal sale to a private developer, we found the entrance of the beach and public access path cordoned off.

CJGEA continues to fight for the upholding of public land and environmental rights.

“How do the arts give you a voice in a democratic space and enable you to fulfil yourself, and how does this contribute to a culturally confident, creative, and prosperous Kenya nation?

Joy Mboya is the Executive Director of The GoDown Arts Centre, the leading and largest nonprofit multidisciplinary arts facility in Nairobi, Kenya which she co-founded in 2003.

The GoDown provides subsidised artist studios and training to help artists in their career development in entrepreneurship

Educated as an architect, Joy continues to lead the GoDown’s development as a valuable community site for artistic experimentation, cross-sector partnerships and creative collaboration.

She received the Head of State Commendation medal (2009) for her contributions to the development of Kenya’s creative economy and was awarded the Order of the Golden Warrior (2013) for her outstanding leadership in the field.

The GoDown is currently undergoing a massive transformation and the new facility will be the largest Art hub in East Africa when complete.

Adelle Onyango is a respected media personality, podcaster and founder of the Adelle Onyango Initiative (AOI).an organization that works to create programs that prepare Kenyan youth for employment or entrepreneurship and give African women who have survived rape access to psyco-social support.

Pinky Ghelani- Raj has worked in mainstream media for over 25 years having been a radio presenter on Capital FM and Kiss FM as well as a TV presenter. She also branched into magazines and was an editor of DRUM magazine, East Africa.

Recognised as a formidable speaker with presence, Pinky launched ‘What Women Want’, which initially started as a weekly conversation where women would get together and have necessary illuminating engagement regarding mental health, financial management, motherhood, life skills and relationships.

Pinky Ghelani - Raj is pictured at the Social House Nairobi where her pivotal show, ‘What Women Want’ had its foundational roots and impact.

Pinky continues to be an outspoken advocate for important issues that women face such as Gender Based Violence, Self Empowerment and Communal Activism and leading ones life with authenticity.

Her goal is to continue being aligned with her core values and engage with community while remaining balanced in content and delivery for both men and women.

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Nyambura Wahu launched Ubunifu Lamu Initiative, a Community Based Organization, from her home, in support of the wellbeing of vulnerable children.

The communal reach of the initiative has now expanded to over 40 children throughout Mararani and Shela Villages.

Her home is recognised as a safe, nurturing hub that supports local artists and children with the necessary materials, skills, and space to express oneself through art, music, poetry, dance, yoga, and sports activities.

She faces the direction of Mararani village where, due to her investment efforts and community collaboration, the new Ubunifu centre is being built.

She is vocal about bringing the world into Mararani and her proactive action to invest back into the community is aligned with the values she communicates.

Ubunifu Lamu Initiative further intends to continue collaborating with the local community to create a platform for intergenerational exchanges where older members of the community can pass cultural traditions, skills, and knowledge to the children and promote the continuation of cultural heritage, history, and identity, which is intertwined with the arts.

Janet Mbugua is a Media Personality, Gender Equality and Human Rights amplifier and Digital Influencer.

She is pictured in the main newsroom of Kenya’s largest TV station, Citizen TV, where she was a highly noted presenter and further where her platform and reach transformed when she took on story about period poverty.

Janet recently released her first book, ‘My First Time’, a collection of short stories from women, girls and men on their first interaction with menstruation

Alexandra Ndolo, is Kenya’s first Olympic Fencer and the co founder of the Kenya Fencing Federation.She is continuously improving both on the fencing track and in the global rankings and has been part of the B German squad since 2010, and part of the A squad of the German women's epee national team since 2014.

Currently ranked 9th in the world, Alexandra recently won the Silver at the world Championships in July 2022 held in Cairo.

Daughter of a Kenyan father and Polish mother, Alexandra was born and raised in Bayreuth, Germany on August 13, 1986.

She started athletics at the age of four and modern pentathlon at the age of nine where she discovered her passion for fencing which is one of the five pentathlon disciplines.

Fencing requires the combination of athleticism, dynamics and strategy and this immediately aroused her interest and captured her attention and drive. Soon fencing became one of her strongest disciplines in modern pentathlon.

In 2006, Alexandra decided to finally specialize in epee fencing Iand in the course of this, she moved to Bonn in 2007 and has been training with Manfred Kaspar and Dirk Schiffler ever since.

She is continuously improving both on the fencing track and in the global rankings and has been part of the B German squad since 2010, and part of the A squad of the German women's epee national team since 2014.

In September 2022, Alexandra announced that she will now represent Kenya full time.

Founder and Director, Lily Oyare in the middle of the current Little Rock campus which currently has 435 students.

This campus overlooks the initial 2003 compact metal and wood building where the center begun with 5 children.

Thousands of children have passed through Little Rock’s inclusive environment where warmth, unity, support, health and wellness thrives.

Little Rock is a solid beacon inspiration and excellence of Early Child Education in Kenya.

Raabia Hawa is the Founder and Executive Director of Ulinzi Africa Foundation, East Africa’s first non-profit focused on improving ranger welfare, empowerment and facilitation. and continues to record successful operations, alleviating poaching and removing deadly snares from the forests almost on a daily basis

Raabia is pictured here with the Ulinzi rangers at a conservancy on Tana River Delta they protect.

Pauline Juma is pictured outside the Rebirth of Queen Safehouse, Kajiado County, Kenya for girls and women that she founded.

She states; “My journey as a teen survivor of gender based violence and then recovery from the trauma was the foundational force for me to reclaim my personal sovereignty and establish new narratives of how I showed up in life and my relationship with others.

Each day, my inner drive to liberate myself from the fear of the unknown, the worries of the future and be a safe space for young women and girls to thrive through healing and empowerment is ignited. I continue to learn, unlearn and relearn.

Rebirth of a Queen was founded with my vision of a better world for teenagers with similar backgrounds like me to create new narratives of their dreams in peace, safety and mentorship.

Rebirth of a Queen is a safe house that provides shelter and hope for girls running away from forced marriages, domestic violence and sexual harassment.”

Adelle is also the founder of The Adelle Onyango Initiative (AOI), an organization that works to create programs that prepare Kenyan youth for employment or entrepreneurship and give African women who have survived rape access to psyco-social support.

Under the AOI there are over 4,300 registered members who are beneficiaries of the job shadow programs and mentorship opportunities the initiative has facilitated.

AOI has also partnered with Carolina for Kibera (CFK) to create Safe 24/7, a program that offers free group therapy and support groups for survivors of sexual violence.

Adelle voice continues to be at the forefront in advocating for sexual violence survivors. She recently launched a pivotal book, Our Broken Silence, co-authored with Lanji Ouko- Awori in March 2022.

The book documents stories by various people who have been affected by sexual violence including survivors, victims, observers, activities, nurses, lawyers, and family members.

Transcending gender based violence shame, guilt and silence and shifting the narrative is the intention Adelle hopes this book will invite to further the discussion and advocacy on the effects of sexual violen